Blair girls' lacrosse crushes Seneca Valley

Blair girls lacrosse crushes Seneca Valley

Photo: Blair defeated Seneca Valley handily 20-0.

Blair defeated Seneca Valley handily 20-0. Photo courtesy of Lillian Paterson.

On April 27 the Blair Blazers (7-2) crushed the Seneca Valley Screaming Eagles (0-9) by a final score of 20-0. 

Blair immediately showed off their offensive prowess, as Blair sophomore Bromley Davis scored less than a minute into the first half. The kept up their pace for the next couple minutes of the game, and Senior Midfielder Megan Gunnulfsen scored two more goals back to back. 

The Screaming Eagles attempts to push back were all ultimately futile, as Blair’s defense was just as coordinated as its offense. Whenever Seneca Valley got a hand on the ball, the Blazers quickly mobilized to intercept their passes and plays. 

The Blazers scored three more times within the next three minutes of the game, setting the score to 6-0. Senior defender Grayson Davis scored again two minutes later, with an assist from senior offender Maddy Baumann. 

Almost the entirety of the game was spent on Seneca Valley’s side of the field. It became clear that the teams were not evenly matched very quickly, and the Screaming Eagles were not making concentrated efforts to strike against the Blazers and defend their goal. After a goal from Baumann, the teams went into timeout. 

Both teams came out of the time out with renewed energy. The Blazers won the face off, but Seneca Valley picked up their pace and speed, jumping into a woman on woman defensive strategy as the team pushed up the field. 

Blair struggled to respond to this for a moment, clumping around their opponents goal. The two teams closely battled against each other for a moment, but eventually Davis broke through and scored. Minutes later, Davis and Sophomore Offender Eloisa Somodevilla respectively scored two more goals.

The remainder of the half consisted of four more goals, with Blair consistently winning all of the faceoffs. Point after point, the Blazers strategy did not change, and it didn’t need to. Seneca Valley continuously fell into these traps, and there was no sign of even a small comeback for the team. The half ended, 15-0, with the Blazers in the lead. 

Going into the second half, for the first time, Seneca Valley was able to successfully stay on Blair’s defending side for more than a couple of seconds. Seneca Valley’s defense stepped up, but not enough to stop the Blazers. Their offensive strategy largely stayed the same. Even when the Screaming Eagles were able to gain possession of the ball, they did not take advantage of it. The Blazers defense played well, quickly mobilizing and shutting down any potential threat to their goal. 

While the ball stayed on Seneca Valley’s defending side of the field, the Blazers were not able to get through their defense and score for the first nine minutes of the half. Sophomore Defender Natalie Bergfalk eventually broke through, and scored the first point of the second half, setting the score to 16-0. 

Blair picked up where they left off, winning the faceoff, and scoring again several minutes later. While the team was slacking off a little compared to the first half, this didn’t make much of a difference, as they were still playing far above their opponents. While Seneca Valley was able to gain possession of the ball more often, the Blazers were always prepared to retaliate and intercept. 

Gunnulfsen scored her third point of the game, and won the faceoff shortly thereafter. The team scored again, with two minutes remaining in the half. As the clock ticked down to zero, the Blazers continued to have no mercy. Sophomore defender Ainslie Curran-Ng'asi ended the game with a final goal, setting the score to 20-0. 

While the game was an easier match for the Blair team, Davis stresses the importance of the team playing their hardest. “We’re just trying to play our hardest and really take what we’re doing and really just try to make ourselves better each game.” Next week, when the team takes on harder opponents like Wootton and Clarksburg, she knows the team must be prepared to bring their best, and play to the highest level they can every game. 

Despite the win, Blair head girls' lacrosse coach Noelle Mason believes the team could have done better. “We won, but I felt like we played sloppy, not quite as clean as we could have.” Looking into the next couple of weeks, she says the team still has a lot to improve on. “[We need to be] able to catch and throw and pick up ground balls consistently, and to continue working on quick movements and playing our game to the best of our ability, not playing down,” she says. 

The Blazers take on Wootton at home Friday, May 5. Tickets can be found here.